


Rulebook Stickler

by savethelastslice



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Candy, Cats, Chewing Gum AU, Chewing gum, Fluff, Lee Jeno Loves Cats, Mark is a bit blur, Na Jaemin is Jisung's dad, Secret Identity, class president!donghyuck, everyone's Chenle's hyung, mentions of bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-24 20:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21344152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savethelastslice/pseuds/savethelastslice
Summary: Five  things Mark knew for certain about his new school:1) The stiff, starched collars were the bane of his existence;2) His new classmates may or may not be robots;3) Chenle was the cutest person known to mankind;4) Na Jaemin quite possibly knew everything about Seoul Arts High;5) And never, ever, under any circumstances, mention the words “Chewing” and “gum” in the same sentence.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 8
Kudos: 162





	Rulebook Stickler

**Author's Note:**

> i...am not completely sure what this is either;;; i kind of wanted a chewing gum au because dream show is coming up and i am emotional
> 
> disclaimer: all I know about the Korean education system i learned from Korean dramas. there has been creative license taken so....this is....definitely not an accurate representation....
> 
> trigger warning: minor mentions of bullying
> 
> It is also horribly under-edited and un-betaed
> 
> still, hope you enjoy!

The stiff collar of his shirt poked uncomfortably at his neck as Mark stood before the class. His Adam’s apple pushed feebly against the black tie whenever he swallowed. And the grey bermudas, don’t even get him started. 

He had had a classmate who had worn a moose mask to school, once. When he had rubbed its (fake) fur it had smelled like maple syrup, and when asked the classmate had given them all a cryptic smile. How he missed Canada. 

After the years spent abroad, his father had been posted back to the offices in Korea. His old school had closed down - something about funding - so his mother had decided that if he were to start afresh in this country, he’d better have the best start he possibly could get.

Enter Seoul Arts High: an elite all-boys music school ten minutes’ bus ride from home. Compulsory boarding, all meals included, supervised study time, and the most uncomfortable starched blue shirts he’s ever worn in his 18 years of existence.

Not daring to move a muscle, Mark endured. 

The walls of the classroom were blue like the ones in the dormitory rooms he’d stay in for the next year or so. “Blue stimulates the mind,” the teacher bringing them around had proclaimed proudly, and Mark had felt something stifling squeeze at his chest.

He felt it again now. The class was small to cater to the small teacher to student ratio the school boasted about, all in those stiff-collared blue shirts. The students blinked back at him. He supposed he must be an oddity - coming in in the middle of the school year after a long time living abroad. Given his standard of Korean he had been assigned to a class the year below him for the time being.

“Introduce yourself, please.” His homeroom and dorm teacher, Mr Lee, stood ramrod straight a little behind him. He was carrying that strange pointer of his behind his back like a disciplinarian straight out of the 50s.

“Hi guys, I’m Mark Lee,” he smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

The class continued to stare.

“I’m sure you’ll find this institute top notch in honing your academic and music abilities. We only insist on the very best.” Mark hazarded a cautious glance at the teacher, platinum blond hair standing starkly against the blue. “Welfare rep, please take over from here.”

Welfare rep? Mark turned his head to see a brown-haired boy with a beaming smile stand up from the third row. He quickly walked over to the front and shook Mark’s hand sharply.

“I’m Na Jaemin,” he introduced. “I’ll show you around school.”

Mark nodded his head, words lodged in his throat. As he followed Jaemin to his assigned desk his mind seemed to float off into the sky because huh. Okay.

The bell outside rang, signalling the start of class. As if clockwork, all the students brought out the same book from their bag and opened it to the same page without prompting. Fumbling, Mark eventually found the correct book. 

“Page 75,” whispered Jaemin under his breath without looking over. Mark nodded in thanks and flipped to the correct page.

The rest of the lesson passed by in a blur of dates and names of kings and dynasties. Halfway through Mark started to zone out - his grasp on Korean was seriously not helping him out here - when he became aware of a pervading smell in the room.

He sniffed once, subtly. Then again. On the third sniff he closed his eyes to concentrate on it, it was right there at the edge of this tongue, but what was it? 

“Mr Lee, are your...allergies preventing you from paying attention? If that’s the case then perhaps you should visit the nurse’s office.”

“Huh?” Mark sat up sharply. “No sir, I’m okay. Sorry sir.”

“Hmm.” Mr Lee didn’t look particularly convinced but turned back to the board all the same. 

Mark felt a soft nudge at his side. He turned to see Jaemin staring at him, eyebrows furrowed in concern. _You okay?_ he mouthed. Mark nodded back.

Jaemin squinted at him again before turning back to the front. Mark’s gaze travelled from his face to the side of his head, at the perfectly gelled hair. Heart pounding, he turned back to the board. Out of the peripherals of his vision he could see it - everyone had their hair done up in a neat style, not a strand out of place. He touched his own messy black hair self-consciously.

Maybe these people were all robots, something in his mind whispered. He almost snorted out loud at that.

Was he so sure, though? He looked around once again at those starched blue collars, gelled hair. Backs ramrod straight, eyes all facing ahead, both feet flat on the ground. Everyone was diligently taking down notes. Whenever Mr Kim asked someone a question, they answered it immediately. Good grief.

The bell rang for recess. A voice called them to attention and they all stood up (Mark a half beat behind) and bowed to the teacher, greeting him goodbye in unison before sitting down. Mark looked around him, half in awe and half horrified that his theory was getting closer and closer to being correct.

Before he could dwell much longer on his new but increasingly well-supported my-classmates-are-all-robots theory, the sound of footsteps approaching caught his attention. Mark looked up to see a boy smiling at him, hand outstretched. 

Instinctively, Mark reached out to shake it. He looked up and found himself staring into a pair of dark brown eyes. They had a quiet twinkle to them. Whatever panic that had been building inside Mark’s chest dissipated in a flash.

“Hyuckie!” Jaemin chirped from behind him. Mark breathed a sigh of relief because yes, that was more what he’d expect from high schoolers, right? Nicknames? Being friendly? Then Mark caught sight of something gleaming on his collar and oh, this was why he was standing in front of his desk.

“Hello Mark-ssi, I’m Lee Donghyuck,” the boy smiled. That insuppressible twinkle in his eyes gave him a look of unexpected boyish mischief. Of course, nothing else betrayed that. His posture was perfect as ever, words cordial. “Class president. You’re in good hands with Jaemin but if you ever need help don’t hesitate to ask, okay? My dorm’s 203, not far from yours.”

“Sure,” Mark found himself replying. “Thank you so much.” Around them, the students were already slowly heading out to the cafeteria in pairs or groups.

“I’ll leave you two now then. See you around!” With a last friendly wave Donghyuck turned and walked over to a quiet looking boy. The boy stuffed his textbook back into his bag and they headed out the door together.

“That guy over there’s Renjun by the way,” Jaemin quipped. “Shall we go for lunch? Let’s grab my friend from next door first - you’ll definitely like him, everyone does - then go eat! I’m starving.”

Mark heard the words but he also saw his straightened posture and the way everyone’s bags were leaning in the same direction against the same table leg. He gulped. “Okay.” Remembering something, he turned to look at Jaemin. “Oh right I was wondering. About the school rules, is gelling…?”

Jaemin gave a small wince, eyes flitting to Mark’s head. Next to Donghyuck’s, he had looked like something crawled over and died on his head. “Yeah, that’s something we have to fix. But don’t worry, I have a lot of spare products so you’re in safe hands.” He shot Mark a wink. Mark could only nod in response.

Suddenly, Jaemin’s face turned serious, like a sudden storm in spring. “Actually, there are a few more things you have to know about the rules.” He looked around to make sure no one was around, then held up two fingers. Mark stared at them. “There are two unspoken rules that you have to adhere to okay? First, no sweets or candies allowed on the premises.”

Mark blinked, taken aback. Jaemin carried on. “Second, never, in any circumstances or under any conditions, mention-” he looked around again and leaned in to whisper in Mark’s ear- “ _chewing gum._”

“Ch-” Mark was instantly shushed by Jaemin, and he continued in a soft whisper. “Chewing gum? Why? Why no sweets?”

“We don’t know,” Jaemin admitted. “Maybe Mr Lee was a dentist in all his past lives or whatever, and cause he’s not in this one he has to find some other way to torment people about dental hygiene. Who knows. All we know is there was once a student was caught with ch-, you know, on him, and Mr Lee lost it. Like, genuinely lost it. Chenle calls it ‘legend’.”

“_Lost it?_ Over ch-” at Jaemin’s glare Mark immediately bit back the words. “Over that?”

Jaemin nodded in earnest. “Just. Just don’t mention it ever. You do not want him angry.”

Mark thought back to those thin, pursed lips and piercing eyes and yeah, he probably didn’t want to. Scratch that, he definitely didn’t want to.

“Good.” Jaemin seemed to breathe a sigh of relief that this talk was over. His bright smile returned. “All the other small stuff we’ll tell you during break, yeah? The people are really nice, you’ll love it. Some of these small rules and stuff are inconveniences but trust me, there’s still many things for you here.”

Mark nodded. “I really hope so.”

“Great!” Jaemin got up and stretched. “Let’s go - oh wait, one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“If you want to, you know,” Jaemin threw a wink his way. “Break any rules, don’t do it in front of Donghyuck. He’s a total rulebook stickler, that’s why he’s class president. But he’s got like, charisma, so no one really cares. If you don’t dress according to the dress code or whatever, you get scolded by him before you get scolded by Mr Lee. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Mark nodded mutely. This whole ‘Mr Lee’ thing was giving him a bit of a migraine, he couldn’t help but think of his dad. If he had to guess though, half the class were probably Lees.

“Okay, now let’s actually go before the queues get ridiculous.”

“Oh, I forgot to ask you just now,” Mark blurted out. “But who’s Chenle?”

Jaemin grinned down at him. Jaemin, Mark decided, was very much human. “You don’t know him? You will soon, trust me. Everyone knows Chenle. Jeno on the other hand, not so many people know but the ones who do like him.”

Mark blinked and nodded along, allowing himself to be dragged out of class by Jaemin, talking a mile a minute. Who was Jeno?

Jeno turned out to be taller and more muscular than anyone their age probably had any right to be. When Jaemin introduced him to Mark he had smiled, sudden and sweet, eyes curving into little crescent moons. “Hi, I’m Lee Jeno. I’m studying dance.” His voice had been unexpected soft, and Mark decided he liked him right away.

“Jeno was my neighbour since we were small,” chatted Jaemin, pulling a wriggling Jeno into a side hug. “And classmates all the way. This year has separated us, though, but trust me, next year fate will reign supreme and reunite -”

“Have you told him yet?” interrupted Jeno.

“Of course.” Jaemin grinned back. “I’m the welfare rep. Can’t have our Canadian boy collapsing on me the first day.”

It took a while for Mark’s Korean to catch up with him. “‘Told me?’” 

“Yeah, you know, about the ch-” Jaemin’s grin spread impossibly wider at the soft _yah!_ Jeno sent his way, eyes wide, and Mark’s own look of dawning horror. “Choosing one’s words carefully, especially words of the...sweeter...variety.”

Jeno scowled and lightly punched Jaemin’s shoulder, triggering a cascade of whines. Mark let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He was holding his breath. Over a piece of candy. Not even the candy - the mere mention of said candy.

Maybe it was the atmosphere. Mark watched Jaemin and Jeno bickering in front of him. Maybe it was how strongly everyone believed in it, which meant that it had to be real.

And that was why, when Mark found the stick of gum in his locker later that day, he slammed the door shut immediately.

Heart hammering against the cool metal door, Mark looked up and down the corridor. He was alone, thankfully. He looked up at the ceiling. No cameras in sight. Gingerly, he reopened the locker and peeked inside. 

His hands shook as he lifted up the stick, turning it this way and that. It was most definitely a stick of gum. The wax paper even had little pink images of bubbles on it.

There was a note attached to the back on a small sliver of post-it. Mark mouthed the words as he read them, Korean still foreign to his eyes. _Welcome to school._

Mark took a shuddering breath and wrapped his fist around the stick. Who would put this in his locker? Sure, the letter-box opening thing they had going on made it possible to slip things into lockers, but who would go through the trouble of bringing gum to school, then putting it in his locker? Welcome to school - as far as he knew, he was the only new student that day.

Quickly, Mark shoved it deep into his pockets. His fingers fumbled with the lock as he reshuffled the numbers. Who would do that? Was someone out to get him? That had to be it right, why else would someone plant contraband in his locker?

Mark leaned on the wall of lockers and cursed silently. He’d forgotten to get his textbook out.

There were two people in homeroom when Mark got there. The back door was already open, so he started in. When he caught sight of the two people, he froze and slipped back out.

Donghyuck was at his table, turned towards another boy in their class. Jinyoung, Mark remembered. One of the quiet boys who sat somewhere near the back. Jinyoung had both hands held in front of him, back slightly curved. Mark strained his ears to hear their conversation. It didn’t look like something he wanted to get involved in.

That voice meant that Donghyuck was speaking. “What do you mean you forgot to bring it? I told the class twice - once on Friday and once yesterday. You know how Mr Lee gets when this happens.”

“I know, I know, I’m so sorry Donghyuck.” Jinyoung. “What should I do? If I do it now the quality will be bad and Mr Lee will be even more angry about not putting in effort. But the assessment, if I hadn’t then I would’ve failed.”

There was a pause. “You haven’t done any of it?” Donghyuck’s voice was suspicious.

“No, last night I got back at eleven and fell asleep.”

Another pause. “Can you get it done by tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” Jinyoung sounded incredulous. Mark could almost see the hard look Donghyuck was giving him. “I - I can try.”

A sigh. “We all don’t want another twenty minute lecture…” Mark peeked in and saw Donghyuck rubbing the back of his head. “I’ll tell him but please at least let him know if you need an extension before it’s already overdue. He’s not unreasonable about these kinds of things.”

“Okay.” Jinyoung opened his mouth and seemed like he was going to continue. He’d heard enough, though. Mark pushed off from the wall and hurried down the corridor to the boys’ toilet. He’d come back in a bit when more people were in class. A shudder went down his spine. He was sure of one thing - Donghyuck wasn’t someone he wanted to cross, ever.

When classes finally ended for the day, Mark collapsed on his desk. Jaemin chuckled beside him. “Long day, huh?”

“Absolutely. Having no school last week was heavenly. I’d take moving house any day.”

“Manual labour though? Anyway I’ve got to drop by the studio to pass Jeno his adaptor, he left it in my bag yesterday. Meet you outside the front office later? I’ll give you a tour of the other wing.”

Mark perked up all energy returning. They covered almost half the school during break. “That’ll be great! I’ve got to grab something from Ms Jung anyway so the timing’s just right.”

Jaemin made a noise of understanding. “Ah, that. Don’t lose those notes, they have everything you need to know for the exams. Everything.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. See you later!”

“See you!”

Mark travelled quickly down the corridors, checking the signages at every turn. Staffroom two...Mark followed the row of doors with his eyes and found the right one. In front of it stood a familiar figure. Mark stopped short a few metres away.

Donghyuck was standing there in a 90 degree bow, speaking in rapid Korean. “...he apologises for not handing it up on time, and for not asking for an extension before the deadline, he’ll do so in the future if it happens again. I’ll take responsibility for this sir, I should have reminded the class again.”

“Make sure you do that. I don’t have so much time for irresponsibility. When will it be in by?” Mr Lee. Mark’s eyes shot open. Jinyoung’s assignment.

Donghyuck stood back up. “He promised to get it done as soon as possible, so tomorrow morning, sir.”

“Hmm, very well. I’ll let this go this once, but don’t let it happen again. You may go now.”

Another bow. “Thank you sir.”

Move before he sees you, Mark’s mind whispered but too late, Donghyuck had already caught sight of him. His nostrils flared in surprise, but he quickly composed himself and gave Mark a curt nod and cordial smile. With that he turned around and left. 

Mark watched him go, mind filled with questions. Class president, dental representative, scolding his classmate just to take the fall for him. Who was Lee Donghyuck?

\---

**[+82 96 7364 2138 added you to group Bunk Babes]**

**[FROM: Bunk Babes - +82 96 7364 2138]**  
[13 45] Yah~ should have done this long ago  
[13 45] Anyway  
[13 45] Welcome Lee Mark! ╰(▔∀▔)╯

**[TO: Bunk Babes]**  
[13 48] Hey!  
[13 48] This is Jaemin, right? And Jeno?

**[FROM: Bunk Babes - +82 96 7364 2138]**  
[13 51] (」°ロ°)」you haven’t saved my number!!!

**[TO: Bunk Babes]**  
[13 51] Heh, sorry ^^’  
[13 52] I mean I see you everyday so, uh  
[13 52] That’s why…?

**[FROM: Bunk Babes - +82 96 7364 2138]**  
[13 52] TT so cold...

**[TO: Bunk Babes]**  
[13 52] Okay okay I’ll save it  
[13 53] Done!

**[FROM: Bunk Babes - Na Jaemin]**  
[13 53] ｡ﾟ( ﾟ^∀^ﾟ)ﾟ

**[FROM: Bunk Babes - +82 93 2003 2816]**  
[13 59] Jaemin, change the group name.

**[TO: Bunk Babes]**  
[14 00] Hi Jeno!  
[14 00] Group name?  
[14 00] O  
[14 00] *Oh  
[14 00] Yeah  
[14 01] Jaemin…

**[FROM: Bunk Babes - +82 93 2003 2816]**  
[14 03] 2 vs 1 so majority wins

**[FROM: Bunk Babes - Na Jaemin]**  
[14 07] Nope! No changing the group name!!!

**[FROM: Bunk Babes - +82 93 2003 2816]**  
[14 08] I’m telling Jisung we let you hug us more than he thinks and you’re not actually hug-deprived so he can tell you to buzz off more than he does

**[FROM: Bunk Babes - Na Jaemin]**  
[14 08] Okay okay fine  
[14 08] No need to bring out the nukes _gosh_ ~(>_<~)

**[Na Jaemin changed the group name ‘Bunk Babes’ to ‘Bunk Buds’]**

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[14 09] This name is no fun...

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - +82 93 2003 2816]**  
[14 14] :)

\---

Over the next week, Mark would say he managed to integrate pretty alright. He made new friends, to the great delight of his mother when he had told her over the phone, she cried and ran to tell his father and Mark had sat on the bed listening to her footsteps running up the stairs, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

First, there was Jaemin. At first, Mark was worried that Jaemin was only hanging out with him because it was his job to. But when Jaemin had gleefully told Mark that they would be roommates Mark dared to hope otherwise, and it seems that it was true. 

That day when they had returned back after a long day of lessons, Jaemin had immediately thrown off his tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt before falling onto the bed and letting out a loud groan. People’s posture, Mark noted, returned to the casual-but-slightly-unhealthy curve when they were back at the dorms.

Second, there was Chenle. Mark never found out how Jaemin and Chenle knew each other - Jaemin seemed to know everyone, their mothers and fathers, their siblings, what breed of dogs they owned - but they seemed close enough. He was a cute and spritely little thing, a year younger than them. 

Every day when he walked into the cafeteria, Chenle’s wide grin was the first thing he saw. He may have perfect eyesight, but Mark still marvelled at the way his eyes seemed to be able to pick out anyone he was on first-name basis with at a glance, and that day was no exception.

“Jaemin hyung! Jeno hyung! Mark hyung!”

Chenle was also on hyung basis with everyone, it seemed. Five minutes into their first conversation he’d casually gone, “So, what do you think of school Mark hyung?” and that had been it.

Today, there was a head of black hair that peeked over his head. With a loud cry Jaemin rushed forward. “Jisung-ah!”

The head of black hair jumped a foot in the air. “Wait, wait, Jaemin hyung -”

Too late, he was enveloped in a bone crushing hug. Mark heard a squeak as the air was crushed from his lungs and winced on his behalf. Poor boy.

Mark didn’t really know much about Jisung other than the fact that he was ridiculously tall for his age, danced ridiculously well, and was a magnet for a truly ridiculous amount of hugs from Jaemin.

“He’s my son,” Jaemin had told Mark.

“I’m really, really not,” had come Jisung’s strained voice.

“Shut up.” Jaemin’s voice had been demure but Mark decided it wasn’t worth asking much more about it.

That left Jeno.

He was Mark’s other roommate, but Jeno usually returned late from dance practice so Mark didn’t see him all that much.

“He’s quiet with new people, he’ll warm up to you eventually!” Jaemin had reassured him. Mark had his doubts, though - could Jeno be the one who put the gum in his locker? Perhaps he was jealous Jaemin was spending so much time with Mark.

But no - Mark was quite certain Jeno was just shy. He sat quietly at the back corner of his class, and Mark had only ever seen him talk to Jaemin and once to Donghyuck. In the cafeteria he was usually silent as Jaemin talked on and on, smiling once or twice.

He definitely was at dance practice, Mark observed. When he came back to the rooms to get his shower things his hair was drenched with sweat. The dance studios were at the other end of campus. Besides, where would Jeno store candy in the same room as Mark? He wouldn’t bother sitting with him at breaks, too. Jaemin would probably have known if he had a secret stash, too, but he’d never seen either of them with contraband.

Renjun, Donghyuck’s friend, wasn’t someone Mark suspected either. That boy looked like he wouldn’t bother with such senseless pranks and would be offended if you even thought of it.

Speaking of Donghyuck, Mark was pretty certain he could rule him out as well. Aside from being class president Donghyuck was the dental health representative. 

“Other schools invite the police officers to give safety talks every term. Us? We get the same dental talk by whoever’s unfortunate enough to be the dental representative.”

Mark looked at Jaemin in surprise. “Really? I found it quite informative. Donghyuck’s a good speaker. I can’t believe someone could say ‘teeth’ in so many different ways.”

Jaemin rolled his eyes. “He better be, he’s given it at least five times already.” He checked his watch and cursed, lifting the strap of his bag higher. “I’m late for practice. You sure you’ll be alright on your own?”

Mark nodded. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry!”

With Jaemin gone, Mark wondered how he’d spend his first free afternoon. He didn’t particularly feel like studying or returning to the dorms. Glancing out the window at the blue sky, sun not too bright or hot, and decided he’d go see the grounds.

He was one of the last students to file out of the hall. On the side of the stage, Donghyuck was busy twirling up the microphone cords. 

When he neared the edge Mark called out to him with a tentative smile. “Good job today!”

At the sound of his voice Donghyuck looked up and blinked in surprise as he stared at Mark. Ah crap, maybe he shouldn’t have said that. Students here were orderly and calling out randomly? That was chaos. Perfectly healthy, clean teeth was order, decay was chaos.

But when Donghyuck’s face transformed into a blinding smile, Mark knew he’d made the right decision. “Thanks!”

Mark ducked his head and hurried out, visual purple still obliterated. Looking at Donghyuck’s smile, he learned, was like staring straight into the sun.

As expected, the weather outside was perfect for a stroll. Mark took the path to the back of the school where the gardens were. They had a gardening club, this one he knew. The tomatoes and cucumbers they grew were often used during mealtimes. From across the tables he’d see the members of the gardening club bursting with pride.

Healthy vegetables. Mark enjoyed them, sure, but a school where everyone finished their salads promptly? Pretty much unheard of. For the sake of his sanity, though, Mark had decided to stop questioning every weird thing that happened here. 

Thinking of not questioning questions, Mark’s mind inevitably drifted to the stick of gum stuffed into an empty shoebox under his bed frame. If he ate it he’d have to throw it away. What if it fell out when the janitor made his rounds? He couldn’t risk it. So there it sat for the past two weeks. At night Mark felt like the princess atop the pea.

The princess and the pea - how did the rest of the story go? Testing royalty, something like that. Mark snorted, looking up at the sky above. He wished.

Head pretty much in the clouds, it was no wonder Mark didn’t see the student crouched ass-up in front of him, and promptly tripped and fell on his face.

“Oh gosh,” Mark groaned as he spat grass out of his mouth. His sleeves had grass stains, Mr Lee was going to kill him. “Hey, watch where -” Mark blinked at the face staring back at him. “Jeno?”

“Mark hyung,” Jeno’s face was white as a sheet. He shifted in the most conspicuous way possible so that he had his back against a bush. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

Mark rubbed the palm he landed on. “Yeah, probably just a bruise. It’ll clear up soon. What are you doing here?”

“I -” Before he could answer, a quiet meowing sounded from behind.

Mark stared at the bush. “Was that a meow?”

Jeno shook his head. “No?”

_Meow._ “Really? I’m pretty sure it sounded like a cat.”

“No, I didn’t hear anything!” _Mrow._

Mark sighed. “Jeno-yah, there’s a kitten standing on your foot.”

Mark watched as Jeno wiggled his toes under canvas of his sneakers. “What cat haha, what -” Then he gave a desperate groan and grabbed onto Mark’s hand with both of his. “I’m so screwed, Mark hyung, please don’t tell Mr Lee, _please_.”

“Don’t be silly, of course I won’t. Are these cats yours?” The small kitten - a grey tabby - wandered over and gave Mark’s calf a curious sniff. 

Jeno was still eyeing him warily, but his grip on Mark’s hands slackened. “No, they’re strays. The undertaker usually feeds them, but he’s not always here.”

Mark squatted down beside Jeno. Carefully, he offered his knuckles for the kitten to sniff. When the kitten bumped its head against his hand, she began stroking her head in gentle, long strokes. “What are their names?”

“Their mum’s Bongshik. This one’s Seol, there’s a tortoiseshell somewhere called Llal.”

“They’re adorable.” Mark grinned. He should’ve known Jeno was a cat person. Jaemin, on the other hand, really could swing either way. “You like cats?”

Jeno’s face coloured a little. His eyes never strayed from Seol as he answered Mark. “Yeah. I can’t keep them at home though cause of allergies. A short while’s okay, though. Like now.”

Oh. Mark noticed a small porcelain bowl hidden by the bushes. “So you’ve been feeding them?”

“Mr Song’s here on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When I have time between class and practice I come here.”

“Ah,” Mark replied. The probability of Jeno being the contraband-planter decreased drastically. Then, “Won’t it be quite rushed for you on some days? Friday, especially, don’t you and Jaemin have double dance periods?” 

The look on Jeno’s face told him he was right. Without waiting for a reply, Mark hesitantly carried on. “Tell you what. How about I help you feed them on Fridays? Then you’ll have some time to rest, you’ve been looking so tired lately.” It was true, he rarely got back to the dorms before ten.

Jeno whipped his head up, shock written all over. “Y-you mean it?”

Mark nodded. “Yeah! I have a puppy at home, I really miss her. This way everyone wins.”

“That would be such a relief, thank you hyung!” Mark was blasted with a full dose of Jeno’s eye smiles. “I’ll show you where Mr Song and I keep the stuff later.”

Mark caught a glance of dark brown hair from afar and ducked down. He pulled at Jeno’s sleeve. “Quick, let’s go,” Mark hissed. “President’s there.”

“Donghyuck?” Jeno perked up. He craned his neck to see above the bushes and waved happily. “Don’t worry about him, he used to feed the cats on Fridays until he started having those meetings.”

Mark blinked, mind blank because _Donghyuck_ helped Jeno feed cats? Wasn’t that kind of...was illegal even the right word? Carefully, Mark peeked over the bushes too and immediately found Donghyuck’s eyes on him. They were unreadable for a second, then Donghyuck smiled and gave a small wave. He turned the corner and was gone.

“Yo, isn’t that the direction of the main gate?”

“Huh? Yeah. He’s probably going to help with the weekly food deliveries.”

“Dude...class president seems like too much work to be worth it.”

“Tell me about it.”

Later that day, Mark was reclining on his bed reading his literature book when Jaemin remarked from the next bed over. “Jeno seems to have warmed up to you, hmm? Did something happen this afternoon?”

Mark glanced over at the empty bed on the bunk below Jaemin’s. “I’m just helping him with some stuff is all.”

“Oh yeah?” Jaemin leaned his head on his palms. Mark felt his piercing stare bore into his soul. “Must be the cats, huh.”

“You knew?” Mark blinked but of course he did, Jaemin and Jeno were practically inseparable. If Donghyuck knew about the cats that meant Jaemin had to, 100% without doubt.

Mark could practically hear the eyeroll Jaemin sent his way. “What do I not know?”

Who the contraband-plater is, Mark thought. He considered it for a while but decided against it. Instead, he blurted out, “English.”

Jaemin made a face. “Damn it, you got me there. Stupid test and stupid Mr Lee, we can’t all be linguists -” Something seemed to light him up from within. “Hey wait. You’re Canadian.”

Mark eyed him warily. “Yeah?”

“You speak English.”

“I speak English.”

“Will you tutor me? Please?” Jaemin’s hands were clasped together like a small cherub, eyes large and wide. He looked like the picture you’d find if you checked the dictionary for ‘puppy eyes’.

“Of course,” Mark laughed. He would’ve done it anyway. 

In a flash, Jaemin was down from his bunk and squishing Mark against the wall, hugging him like an oversized leech. “You’re the best! Come here!”

“Wh-What?” Mark eked out before his line of sight tunnelled. He began to squirm in earnest to avoid Jaemin’s lips. “Ah, yah, yah! Oi!”

The door opened. Mark craned his neck to see who it was. Relief flooded into him. “Jeno, Jeno-yah, help me! Get off me, Jaemin!”

But Jeno, that filthy filthy traitor, shook his head. He grinned. The door closed.

“YAH!!”

\---

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[22 28] [img_0009.jpg]  
[22 28] [img_0010.jpg]  
[22 28] [img_0011.jpg]  
[22 28] [img_0012.jpg]  
[22 28] [img_0013.jpg]  
[22 28] The last one is the first day Seol and Llal opened their eyes <3

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[22 28] Σ(▼□▼メ) gAsp  
[22 28] Cats  
[22 28] They don’t understand the privilege of being the only beings to earn a ‘<3’ from Lee Jeno TT  
[22 29] Notice me senpaiiii

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[22 29] Aw :)  
[22 29] [img_0014.jpg]  
[22 29] Caught Bongshik sleeping under the bush today!

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[22 29] O.o  
[22 30] It rained this afternoon  
[22 30] She likes that spot when it rains :)

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[22 30] Omg Mark hyung don’t enable Jeno in his self-destructive tendencies  
[22 30] Fate was cruel when she made Jeno a cat lover…

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[22 31] Something’s telling me you’re a dog person...

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[22 31] What  
[22 31] How’d that come into the convo

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[22 31] Why’s it cruel?

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[22 31] It’s not  
[22 31] Jaemin’s just being a HATER

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[22 31] YO ITS NOT MY FAULT THAT I WANT MY FRIEND ALIVE (ಥ﹏ಥ)

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[22 32] This suddenly turned a lot more serious uhm  
[22 32] What’s this mysterious reason  
[22 32] Is this some prophecy thing  
[22 32] “Jeno is going to get scratched badly by a cat one day and lose the lottery…”

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[22 33] AHA cute :’)  
[22 33] Alas, the truth is far simpler lol  
[22 33] Jeno’s allergic to cats

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[22 33] …  
[22 34] Erm  
[22 34] Should you be feeding them every day then  
[22 34] Jeno  
[22 34] Jeno please  
[22 35] Renjun’s going to hear your fake snoring from next door and come over and we’ll all die  
[22 35] Again

\---

Mark was doomed. He was never going to satisfy Mr Lee’s demands. He would be stuck in the year below him forever. He’d never be able to communicate properly with the aunty at the pojangmacha to tell her no chives in his soup please, or extra carrots in this. He would never progress in Korean society.

“Stop moping,” Jaemin whined. “It’s not the end of the world.”

But it was. Chives and no extra carrots…

Jaemin snorted in disgust. “Can we just get your books and move on to class?”

Mark shot him a hurt look. He thought his friend would understand him better than this, but no. Maybe Jeno would listen to him whining, but he’d only see Jeno back at the dorms. Under Jaemin’s wilting glare Mark finally unlocked his locker and pulled it open.

Immediately, his eyes widened and he slammed it shut again.

“What was that for?” Jaemin shoved Mark to the side in effort to have a look. “Was there a bug or something?”

“No, no, it was nothing,” Mark smiled wanly. Jaemin shot him a look that told him he didn’t believe a single word out of his lying mouth.

“I’m calling bullshit,” Jaemin sang, starting to untangle Mark’s fingers from the locker handle. “Let me see!”

“Oi, privacy -” Mark began but Jaemin really was a lot stronger than he looked and Mark quickly found his back to the locker, hands locker handle-less. Actual panic started to mount within him. Curse his stupid instincts. “Jaemin-ah, please don’t -”

Too late, Jaemin had his locker door thrown open. He stood there in silence staring at its contents, and Mark stood in silence staring at Jaemin’s face. It was carefully blank. I knew it, Mark cursed, he’s going to report me and -

And Jaemin thew his head back and cackled at the ceiling. There were wrinkles beside his eyes as he grinned at Mark. “Really? You were scared I’d see this?”

Mark looked at him incredulously. He pointed an accusing finger at Jaemin, then the offending item in question. “How - of course I was - are you not going to report me?” he finished weakly.

“No?” Jaemin reached in and extracted the pink post-it from around the pack of gum. He closed the locker and handed the note to Mark. “Here, have a look at it. I can kind of guess what it says.”

Squinting suspiciously at Jaemin who wiggled the post-it in front of him, Mark took the paper from him anyway. This time, the message was longer. The careful, readable Korean script was undeniably the same as the last time.

_Mark: Heard your Korean test didn’t go so well. These things happen so don’t be disheartened! Work hard and your efforts will definitely pay off. If you need help don’t hesitate to seek it from those around you; all us students are in this together, after all. Fighting!_

Mark blinked. Contraband-planter was...encouraging him? Against all logical thought, Mark’s heart felt undeniably warmer at the words, his shoulders lighter.

“So? What does it say?”

“Korean test,” Mark mumbled. “Encouragement to work harder.”

Digging around in the front pocket of his school bag, Jaemin brought out an identical pink post-it. “I knew it. I got one too, yesterday after I bombed my English test.”

Mark opened his mouth, then closed it again like a goldfish. Finally, he sputtered out an intelligible string of sounds and finally, “what?”

Jaemin winked, moving to whisper in Mark’s ears. “You’ve been visited by the candy-fairy.”

“Jaemin, enough with the cryptic statements, I need to know if I need to pack my things when I get expelled by Mr Lee for carrying Grade A contraband -”

The younger gave the loudest snort Mark had ever heard. A few students down the corridor paused in their conversations and turned to look, then decided it wasn’t much and turned back. 

“It’s a students’ secret,” Jaemin explained when he finally got Mark to calm down and listen. “No one knows who but sometimes when they’re feeling down about something or just randomly, they’ll receive candy with a note of encouragement attached. More often than not it’s gum, but I’ve gotten a couple of jawbreakers too.” Jaemin shrugged. He eyed Mark’s locker. “He must like you though, you got the whole pack, damn.”

“Why?”

Jaemin shrugged. “Beats me. It’s been going on too long to be blackmail. Or who knows, maybe it’s some crafty genius slowly giving everyone cavities.”

Huh. “Who’s this...dealer?”

“Were you not listening,” Jaemin said flatly. “It’s a secret.”

“You said you knew everything though?”

Jaemin sputtered. “Not everything! Just this one thing and now you doubt my credibility.”

Mark ignored his whining and thought for a while. “Jaemin.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to stop moping about the test.”

“Oh, thank heavens.”

“And I want to know who this guy is.” Mark stared down at the note in his hand. “Not to do anything, but I just want to know, you know?”

A slow grin spread over Jaemin’s face. “Yessss Mark Lee, that’s what I want to hear.”

\---

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[14 57] HEAR YE HEAR YE IMPORTANT NEWS

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[14 57] Is it as important as dance 

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[14 57] ROOM MEETING TONIGHT FIRST THING  
[14 57] wut

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[14 57] Cause you’re going to be late in three minutes  
[14 58] We swapped periods today remember  
[14 58] Oops two minutes now

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[14 58] SHIT

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[14 58] (o-_-o)

\---

“Okay, listen up. Calling this room meeting to order.” Jaemin cried. As if on cue, Mark yawned. “Hey, no yawning!”

“I still don’t see why we had to use my bed,” complained Jeno.

“‘It’s the middle ground,’” Mark said in poor imitation of Jaemin. “‘Mark’s bed to mine is the hypotenuse of the triangle which is too far for my short legs.’”

“It’s not my fault I have a long torso.” snapped Jaemin. He spread his arms and signalled the collection of post-its laid out on the bed. “I spent the last ten minutes pouring over these notes and found something very, very interesting.”

Jeno and Mark just stared blankly at Jaemin. “They’re...all pink?” Jeno attempted, but Jaemin waggled a finger in his face.

“No fun, my good Watson. As you can see here, here, and here,” he pointed to three spots in the notes. “The ㅈ is written like, really badly. Especially badly.”

Mark squinted. It looked pretty good to him but Canada, so. “Uh huh, and?”

“And so,” Jaemin grinned. “We’re going to check the handwriting of our classmates. And! Let’s try to stakeout the corridors for suspicious activity. It’s a perfect plan, I’m telling you, perfect!”

Jeno and Mark looked at each other and back to Jaemin, nodding their heads, hesitant at first but more firmly. “It’s not like we have any other ideas,” Jeno noted, and Mark had to agree.

\---

Mark was leaning extremely casually by the lockers when Donghyuck appeared from down the corridor. Panic started to rise in his chest because dammit Na Jaemin, take your time why don’t you, when Donghyuck stopped in front of him.

“Hey, Mark hyung,” he greeted. “What’re you doing here?”

“Um. Leaning uh - against the wall. Yes.” Wires sizzled and Mark’s motherboard officially short-circuited.

Donghyuck snorted. “I can see that. How’s school been for you? Adapting okay?”

Mark nodded. “Yeah! It’s all quite different from Canada, but it hasn’t been bad.” Although...he tugged uncomfortably at his shirt. “These collars took some getting used to, though.”

Donghyuck laughed. “Dress code and all that, huh. I see Jaemin has busted out the extra gel.” He nodded appreciatively at Mark’s slicked-back hair. His expression turned more serious as he continued. “I hope you don’t think we’re draconian here, I know Mr Lee can be a bit...much.”

Ah, some things were, but he wasn’t just going to tell that the the class president. “I, uh, think what’s written in the student’s handbook seems quite reasonable.”

“What’s written in the student’s handbook,” Donghyuck repeated. He seemed faintly amused by his response.

Mark winced. “Ah well...unspoken things and all that…” He shut his mouth. Donghyuck was staring at him intently as if telling him to go on, so Mark opened his mouth, hoping the words would be there. They weren’t.

Just then, the bell rang. Mark jumped maybe five feet in the air but Donghyuck just shot an irritated glance up at the speakers before turning back to Mark. “I’d love to hear more about these ‘unspoken things’ but I’ve got to get those worksheets to Mr Lee. Catch you later hyung!”

“See you!” Mark waved as Donghyuck moved to enter the classroom and oh shit, Jaemin. “Wait, Donghyuck-ah!”

“Yeah?” Donghyuck turned around and waited expectantly. From behind his head, Mark caught sight of Jaemin gesticulating a thumbs-up from the window.

“Uh…” Mark searched his mind desperately for something to say. “Um, I just. Wanted to say thank you. For being such a responsible class president.”

Donghyuck’s lips quirked up. He was laughing at him, Mark groaned. “Sure, no problem.” With a final wave, he disappeared into the classroom.

Mark breathed a sigh of relief. That was a close call. He was so relieved, in face, that when Jaemin popped his head out from the doorframe beside him he, Mark Lee, barely 18, almost got a legitimate heart attack.

“What the - so how was it?”

Jaemin gave a pout. “No match.”

Mark winced. “Did you check every single one?”

“Of course.” Jaemin nodded. His eyes widened as he saw someone behind Mark and he waved at Donghyuck as he walked out of class, fixing them both with a curious stare. When he had disappeared down the corridor Jaemin and Mark both heaved a sigh of relief. “Perfect timing, huh?”

“Dude, tell me about it.” Mark could still feel Donghyuck’s lingering gaze.

Jaemin poked him in the side, eliciting a yelp. “Did you see anything?”

Mark shook his head. “Not a thing. No one slipped anything into anyone’s lockers. People just took stuff out as usual. I’ve kind of got my eye on that Taehyung guy though. Man looked shifty.”

“Nah, I know Taehyung. He’s gotten notes before. He’s also too bad a liar to pull something like this off. You can’t go by that though - maybe people can lie pretty well.”

That didn’t seem to add up, though. “Maybe they planted some so it wouldn’t be suspicious?”

“Huh.” Jaemin considered this for a while. “But it’s discreet enough that people don’t talk about it openly anyway, so why bother?”

Mark waited until Renjun entered the classroom. _Donghyuck’s friend_ his mind registered, and a thought occurred to him. “Maybe it’s more than one person? Does this happen across levels?” 

“Yeah, Chenle’s gotten them before - oh, that actually makes more sense. Although -”

Whatever he was about to say died in his throat because Jeno chose that exact moment to walk in with the bloodied cat.

“Jeno -” Jaemin eked out. “What the actual…?”

The two stared in absolute horror as Jeno stumbled up to them, eyes round and puffy with a steady stream of tears running down his cheeks. “Bongshik...Bongshik she…” Jeno choked and started coughing up a storm.

The stakeout was the last thing on Mark and Jaemin’s minds as they quickly shepherded Jeno and Bongshik to the front office where they could contact a veterinarian.

\---

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[08 17] Update from Mr Song they stitched her up and she’ll be back in no time

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[08 24] That’s great!  
[08 24] Jaemin, you okay? You were pretty close to fainting back there

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[08 24] I’m quite sure I did faint  
[08 24] At least for a second or something

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[08 35] [img_0046.jpg]

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[08 36] Oh wow that’s...quite a lot of blood  
[08 36] Good thing you found her in time ><

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[08 39] …..my eYES  
[08 39] Some warning next time please TT  
[08 39] This is why I don’t take bio guys TT

\---

“You’d think they’d have shipped Bongshik off to the SPCA but thank goodness Principle Jung decided to keep the family.” Jaemin was leaning on the lockers as Mark walked out of class. “Jeno just told me that it’s ‘cause they help keep the rat population down.”

“Anything for the school hygiene ratings, huh?”

“They’d better have kept her,” Jaemin’s jaw hardened, something shrill in his voice. “If I have to see Jeno cry again I don’t care what would happen, those cats are coming to live in our dorm.”

“Mr Lee seemed alright with the arrangement, so much for him not knowing about the cats, huh. Although in the dorms, he’d probably mind.”

“Don’t care,” whined Jaemin petulantly. “Mark hyung, you’d help keep them if that happened right?”

Mark sighed. “Of course. Shove aside a bit, I can’t get to the lock with you in the way.”

“Hmph,” Jaemin sulked but scooted to make space anyway. “So, after that failed stakeouts I’m thinking we could maybe try again. But then I also realised that if people were working together then maybe they’d get different people to put the things in lockers right, so that may not work. We might have to start looking into who receives them more than who delivers them.”

“Mm,” Mark murmured in agreement as he swung his locker door open. There was a pause. He reached out and tapped Jaemin on the shoulder. “Like this one?”

Both boys stared into the recesses of the locker to read the neat script.

_Mark: Hey, it’s me again! Please don’t freak out - heard through the grapevine that you helped our little furry friend Bongshik. Anyone who’d take the time to help an injured animal deserves praise - unfortunately all I can give you is some candy. Enjoy, you deserve it!_

A long beat of silence. “Huh,” Jaemin eventually said. “How come you’re the only one who gets a note?”

Mark squinted at Jaemin. “Did you open your locker yet?”

“Uh…” Jaemin had the audacity to grin back innocently before skipping over to his locker. As expected, he returned with a small pink post-it, candy probably shoved deep into his pockets.

Later that day, Jeno bounded out of class excitedly with a pink post-it in hand as well.

“Okay,” Jaemin said, rubbing his hands together. “So we’ve had welcome messages, post-exam encouragement messages, thanks-for-doing-good messages. This leads me to think...”

“Yeah?” Mark asked, Jeno watching curiously.

“...that I have absolutely no idea what’s going on.”

A long pause later, Jeno slumped over and, burying his head into the pillow, groaned loudly.

“Hey,” Jaemin snapped. “It’s not so easy okay.”

Mark shrugged. “We’ll just have to wait and see to gather data. Anyone else we can ask about this?”

Jaemin thought about this for a while as Jeno finally peeped up from the pillows. “Maybe I can start asking Chenle. He might know something.”

Chenle, as it turns out, didn’t seem to know much. 

“I’ve had messages like these of course,” he said, glancing down at the stack of post-its Jaemin showed him and back at the three older boys. “But I’m not sure about other people and I definitely don’t remember the exact dates they got them.”

Jaemin looked visibly deflated. “Well, so much for our timeline.”

“Timeline?” Chenle quirked up an eyebrow. “Seems pretty random to me.”

“That’s true,” Mark perked up. “We’ve been treating this like something special, but what if it’s not?” At the blank faces he continued on. “Think about it, every student doesn’t do well on exams sometimes. Everyone’s also new to school at some point in time. What if it’s less about writing to students one at a time but during events like exams, mass writing to all involved?”

Jeno made a sour face. “Then that’s quite hard to catch right? If everyone gets it.”

“Yeah,” Mark glanced at Chenle, who was looking up at him with wide eyes. “Unless he breaks the pattern, we won’t know.”

“Sitting and waiting is boring,” groaned Jaemin. “But we can do that while thinking of other plans.”

They didn’t have to wait that long. The next day, Mark opened his locker to find a cola lollipop. Had anything happened the previous day? He didn’t think so, Mark thought to himself as he picked up the candy. This time, there wasn’t a note attached either.

“Maybe the note fell off?” Jeno suggested during lunch. “Or maybe he forgot to attach it on?”

“But nothing special happened though?” Mark took a bite of his rice thoughtfully.

When Mark found a pack of Reese’s the next day without a note, more suspicions popped up in his mind. Then it went on for the whole week: sour candy, gummy worms, licorice, and of course, chewing gum. But no note.

“I’ve got it!” Jaemin slammed his hand down on the bunk bed, causing Mark and Jeno to jump in surprise. In his hand was a half eaten piece of gummy bear because Mark didn’t want to die of diabetes so fast and he was also a generous soul. Jaemin was the only person Mark knew who bit the heads off first, the monster. 

He pointed an accusing finger at Mark who nearly went cross eyed looking at it. “Candy dealer _wants_ you to find out who he is!”

“No way, that’s ridiculous.” Mark scoffed. Jaemin shot him a grin. Jeno continued munching on his licorice.

He was still scoffing the next day as he sat at his desk, the first to return to homeroom. His head was buried in his notebook of Korean phrases when the chair beside him scraped against the tiles. Without looking up, Mark called out. “Jaemin-ah, you know that saying you were teaching me yesterday -”

“Yeah?” An amused voice that was clearly not Jaemin’s replied. “What saying’s that?”

Mark swivelled his head in alarm and nearly fell from his seat. “Donghyuck!”

“Disappointed?” Donghyuck pulled out Jaemin’s chair and sat down. Next to Mark, it occurred to him that he was the taller of the two. He seemed smaller, sitting down.

“N-no?” Mark swallowed, cursing his stammer. “It’s just...not who I was expecting.”

“Mm.” Donghyuck picked up Jaemin’s pen and inspected it, nose scrunching up at the pink name sticker. Mark couldn’t blame him. That truly was a horrible shade of pink. “So. Try me out, I might know the saying.”

Well, if he was going to offer to scratch the itch, more power to him. “It’s just, on the tip of my tongue, you know? I think there’s some word that’s missing. It’s something about ‘clothes are feathers’?”

“Clothes are wings.”

“Yeah! Yeah, that.”

Donghyuck turned the pen this way and that. He held it up to the light and, apparently satisfied, nodded and replaced it on the desk, picking up a ruler instead. Mark didn’t know if he’d rather Donghyuck continue fiddling just so he didn’t have to look at him or not. “Jaemin’s teaching you Korean, huh? You’ve improved.”

Something in Mark’s chest bloomed proudly. “He’s a good teacher.”

“And are you?”

Mark blinked. “Huh?”

Donghyuck sighed a little. “Canada, right? How’s your English?”

“Well...I don’t really know the grammar rules cause it’s by feel, you know. Sometimes Jaemin finds that really annoying.” Mark paused, then quickly added, “but stuff like vocab and idioms are fine.”

“Is there an equivalent in English?”

“To what? ‘Clothes are wings’?” At Donghyuck’s nod, Mark considered it for a moment. “Yeah. “Clothes make the man.” I don’t know about you but being a bird’s way cooler.”

“‘Clothes make the man’. Like ‘manners maketh man’…?”

Oh? Mark clapped his hands in delight. “Ay, Kingsman!”

Donghyuck turned to him with an incredulous expression. “You’ve watched it?”

“Of course! Dude, Taron Egerton,” Mark gave a low whistle and Donghyuck gave an amused snort. Mark picked a little at his starched shirt. “Those spiffy suits might kinda feel like these, though. That would suck. But the umbrellas and Oxfords? That’s a look, right there.”

“Those are sick,” Donghyuck agreed.

There was a short pause that followed. Mark shook his head, laughing under his breath because Donghyuck of all people. “Didn’t expect you to be into Kingsman.”

“Yeah? What’d I be into then?” 

_Not gum,_ he wanted to say. But Donghyuck’s eyes held laughter but challenge as well, and Mark found he couldn’t really answer.

\---

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[15 23] Eh Mark hyung  
[15 23] Did you draw the baby lion in the corner of my notebook  
[15 23] Cause it’s SUPER CUTE awh  
[15 23] [img_0103.jpg]

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[15 35] Uh  
[15 35] No?  
[15 35] It’s nice though I agree

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[15 49] Wat  
[15 49] Then who touched my stuff (｡•́︿•̀｡)

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[15 52] Oh I think I know

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[15 53] Whooooo!! ･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[15 53] Donghyuck  
[15 54] He sat in your seat for a bit  
[15 54] I didn’t notice he drew on your notebook though :I

**[FROM: Bunk Buds- Na Jaemin]**  
[15 55] No offense Mark hyung but if someone pickpocketed you you’d probably not realise and still wish them a nice day afterwards

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[15 55] Wtf where is this all coming from 

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[16 11] Am I the only one who thinks the lion kind of looks like Mark hyung  
[16 11] I’m finding that quite a-MUSE-ing  
[16 11] :)

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[16 13] Ha ha

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[17 23] Ha ha

\---

When August 2nd rolled around, it started like any other ordinary day. Jaemin woke first before making the other two were up. They headed to the bathroom in all their bedhead glory, mumbling a sleeping ‘good morning’ to whoever they passed along the corridor. By seven, they headed out the door, not a hair out of place.

In Canada they had birthday charts on the classroom wall. Maybe it was a Korea thing, Mark wondered. His parents promised they’d call that night, and he’d already received a text with many cake emojis from them that made him grin, as if he’d found yet another goodie in his locker to stowaway until later.

Jeno, he decided, probably wouldn’t raise such an issue if it were him. Jaemin would either do the same or tell everyone in sight. Mark was leaning more towards the first option, though, for all his meddling Jaemin didn’t necessarily want the attention for himself.

Mark’s train of thought was interrupted by a hard thump on his back. Almost swallowing his spoon, he turned to glare at Jaemin. “Oi, what -”

“You didn’t say!” Jaemin cried accusingly as he plonked his lunch tray down. He pouted at Mark. “I had to hear from Jeno who had to hear from Chenle who heard from someone else who passed him the package he found from someone else.”

Mark could only blink because, “what package?”

“Your birthday package, dummy!” Jaemin’s trademark grin was back. “Jeno’s gone to put it under your bed as per tradition, so you better remember to open it later.”

“Package…?” Mark was truly lost. “Who…?”

Jeno chose that moment to appear with his own lunch tray, grinning knowingly into the rice. Jaemin looked up and they locked eyes, then Jaemin gave an evil cackle and continued to attack his rice. No matter what tactics Mark used, the two refused to budge.

Assholes.

Somehow he managed to forget about it during the day. When the got back to the bunks Jaemin all but pushed him into the door, slamming it shut behind the three of them, rubbing his hands together like a scheming fly. “Package! Package! Package!”

Mark threw Jaemin a baleful stare but obediently stuck his head under the bunk. Sure enough, under the metal frame sat a pretty blue paper box. It had pink polka dots running up and down the sides, the lid taped securely shut with masking tape. He drew it up onto his bed with a grunt. It was surprisingly heavy. A sticker with his name and dorm number stared back at him from the lid.

“Open it! Open it! Open it!”

“Okay okay, calm down,” Mark replied as he searched for a scissors to cut the tape. “Where did…?”

“Mark hyung,” Jeno called, handing over a pair. With a muttered thanks, Mark cut through the masking tape in a smooth motion.

“Did we lock the door?” Jeno piped up anxiously.

“Check it yourself!” Jaemin called back, eyes not moving from the box.

“I’ll do it,” volunteered Mark, but two voices immediately objected.

“Okay, it’s locked,” Jeno confirmed. He appeared back at Mark’s other shoulder, the one that didn’t have the digging sensation from an overly sharp chin. “Open it!” 

“Opening in three...two…” The sound of bated breath. Mark ripped open the lid. “One!”

He heard a choir of angels sing from the far reaches of the room as the glorious sight glowed and burned before his various eyes. No, really, light was literally shining from its contents.

“Hey, no fair, you got so much gum,” Jaemin whined.

“I -” Mark couldn’t help it, he reached out a hand towards the towering pile of candy. “Who…?”

Jeno reached over Mark’s shoulders to pluck out a folded piece of pink paper. He shoved it to Mark, who unfolded it with trembling hands.

_Mark hyung: Happy 18th birthday! 18 is a special birthday, one step closer to gasp alcohol and buying lottos...but seeing you I kind of doubt you’d mess around with those privileges too much hahaha, I know I might. I hope you’ve enjoyed your birthday even though you’re kind of stuck in school zzz. Maybe this will make up for some of it, though - extra special for a special birthday, but also extra cause you’re very cute. Hope you’ve been liking the small surprises the past week or so!_

Mark put the letter down with trembling hands. Fingers pawed at his shoulder, insistent voices chiming out, so he wordlessly passed the note to them. A minute later, Jaemin squealed loud enough to rival Chenle and smacked Mark on the back, hard.

“Ow, what was that for!”

“I knew it!” yelled Jaemin. “I knew there was extra in here oh my -”

“Do we get some?” Jeno asked hopefully.

“- my eyes don’t lie, okay, these are Na Jaemin’s Perceptive Eyes and I know volumes when I see them -”

“If we do could I have the gummy cats hyung?”

“- I don’t take physics for nothing! You biology nerds -”

Mark handed Jeno the gummies. “Jaemin -” 

“- compulsory science and you go for frog dissection -”

“Jaemin.”

“Huh?”

“Shut up.”

Jaemin shut up. Then a diabolical grin spread across his face. “Your face is red, hyung.”

“What?” Mark could feel his face burning, but damn if he was going to let Jaemin win on this one. “No it’s not.”

“It really is, hyung,” Jeno helpfully chimed in around a mouthful of gummies.

Mark took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Whatever.” He eyed the mountain that sat before him, heavenly light seeming to have receded in the past five minutes or so they had spent bickering. “Anyway, what are we going to do with this?”

Jaemin shrugged. “Your candy, your call.”

The muffled chiming in the corridor told them it was already quite late. Mark closed the box and replaced it under his bed. “Decisions can wait till tomorrow,” he proclaimed. “Right now all I want to do is sleep.”

“They grow old so fast, huh,” Jaemin wiped away a fake tear. “I’ll massage your arthritis, hyung.”

Mark threw a pillow at him which he dodged, cackling.

\---

The lack of a Happy Chenle Greeting was the first indication that something wasn’t right. Mark blinked at the empty wasteland of the cafeteria and opened his mouth, but Jaemin spoke up first. “Hey, where’d everyone go?”

“Mark hyung! Jaemin!” The two turned to the direction of pattering footsteps and came face to face with a pale Jeno. Indication number two that something was off. “You guys have got to come see this.”

He led them down the corridors to the main notice board where a group of juniors were huddled around. The usual peaceful quiet of the hallways was thrown out the window, loud protests erupting periodically.

“What’s going on?” hissed Mark to Jeno as Jaemin seemed to catch sight of something and dart off into the crowd.

“I don’t know,” Jeno replied helplessly. “Something about the junior’s exams -” 

Before he could say much, he was cut off by Jaemin’s yelling as he waved them over to a more secluded corner. He had his arms around Chenle, face scarily blank and expressionless.

“We didn’t expect much, we really didn’t. The paper was already so hard...did you know this guy from the next class broke down in the middle of the test and had to be taken out? But for this rate of failures, it’s...it’s…” Chenle’s bottom lip wobbled. He stared miserably down at his shoes and Mark really felt like punching someone.

“Insane,” finished Jaemin quietly, as though unable to believe his own words. “An 82% failure rate.”

“On this paper, no less,” spat Jeno. “They knew the grade weightage, why put this pressure on students? Isn’t our current national ranking enough?”

Chenle could only shake his head. “No one wants to call their parents. You know what will happen to some of them.”

Instantly, Jaemin went as pale as Chenle. “Jisung,” he breathed. “Oh my gosh, Jisung.” He shot up and squirmed his way into the crowd, Jeno hot on his heels, leaving Mark and Chenle alone.

“Can’t they do something about it?” Mark blurted out. “Remark the papers? Maybe they made a mistake somewhere.”

“The grades have already been keyed in to the centralised system and sent to the education ministry,” a new voice cut in, sounding no happier than Mark felt. The two whipped around to see Donghyuck standing with arms folded, jaw clenched as he stared at the mass of students. Some were huddled together and crying, others escalating their voices in protest. “They’ll have to take it to the higher ups to change things.”

“Donghyuck hyung.” Chenle stumbled over to them. He tripped over his shoelaces and nearly fell over in his haste, but Donghyuck caught him by the elbows to steady him. “Is there really nothing that can be done?” 

Mark couldn’t help it, he let out an incredulous laugh. “C’mon, surely the ministry will realise there’s something seriously messed up about this?”

“There are those who’d like to see us fall.” Renjun, walking over to join them. Silence washed over their small group for a moment as the reality of the situation slowly sunk in.

“Donghyuck hyung.” Chenle’s voice was softer this time, almost as though it was only meant for one pair of ears. “Can’t you do something?”

There were tears in his eyes now. Mark sat frozen, not daring to turn his gaze to meet the mass of students behind them, a crowd getting larger with each passing minute. There was something of a daze upon him. Where were the teachers? Surely the teachers should do something about this? Explain that it was all a big mistake?

“I’m sorry Chenle.” Donghyuck’s reply was almost a whisper, the barest strains floating to Mark’s ears such that he wasn’t sure if he was hearing right. “It’s only Wednesday today.”

There was no banter, no bickering when the three got back to their dorm room. Jeno had opted to join Mark on his bed, both sitting and staring at the ground. In front of them, Jaemin paced the floor.

No long after Donghyuck and Renjun had appeared, the school bell rang, signalling the end of break. Like clockwork, the crowd dispersed almost immediately. Mark knew they would blink away their tears, hold their backs straight and get through the lessons of the day because they’d fallen so far back already, they couldn’t afford to lose anymore curriculum time.

Just thinking about Chenle staring at the whiteboard that blurred in his vision every now and then before he’d blink away his tears made something tighten uncomfortably in Mark’s chest.

“Jisung had cried, _cried_.” Jaemin repeated under his breath. “He _never_ cries.”

“Apparently their teachers refused to talk about it,” Jeno finally said. “I saw Chenle on the corridors after dance today.”

“And I thought I felt like shit after doing badly for that Korean test,” Mark groaned. “Now it feels like my younger brother was wronged and I can’t do anything.”

Jaemin stopped pacing. He glared at Mark through red-rimmed eyes. “Your younger brother? Jisung’s practically my child, my son is in pain and I can’t. Do. Anything.

Mark didn’t think, he really didn’t. “Well, he’s not your child.”

“He sure feels like it.”

“Does he think so too?” Once he started, he found he couldn’t stop.

“What’s your point?”

“How awful and helpless we feel isn’t a competition.”

“I never said it was.”

“Well, it sure seemed like it.”

“Yeah well, all I was trying to say was that our friends are suffering. We’re their hyungs but we can’t do anything, so much for being older.”

“Who says we can’t?”

“I said so, were you not listening?”

“No, no.” Mark sat up slowly, feet on the floor. Jaemin seemed to pick up the change in mood and kept quiet. Jeno, who had been spacing out during their exchange, seemed to become animate again. “Who says we can’t do anything?”

Jaemin shot Mark an annoyed look. “Uh, didn’t you hear Donghyuck? ‘The data has been sent to the ministry’ means it’s finalised. The end. That’s it.”

“No, as in. Just listen.” Mark rubbed at his temples with his fingers. “The grades aren’t our prerogative. But you know what is? That we think of them as younger brothers. We want to take care of them.”

Curiousity piqued, Jeno piped up. “What are you trying to say?”

Mark sprung up from his sitting position, causing Jaemin to involuntarily take a step back. There was a wide grin on his face. “What I’m trying to say is: guys, remember what happened after my Korean test? After any test we didn’t feel good about after?”

A look of understanding dawned on Jaemin. “You can’t mean - but where are we -”

Diving under his bed, Mark resurfaced with a box. A blue box with pink polka dots. Jeno was over in a flash, lifting the lid and counting the pieces inside. “There’s more than enough,” he breathed. “There’s definitely more than enough.”

“But what about the actual guy…?”

“If he does it too, more power to him!” Mark seemed to catch himself. He cast a surreptitious look at the door and continued in a whisper-shout. “Maybe it’s not one guy. Maybe it’s a bunch of different people and we’re just one of them, but who cares?”

There was a soft chortling sound from beside him, and Mark turned to see Jeno wearing the biggest eyesmiles he’d seen yet. “Who cares?” Jeno echoed. “A little candy never hurt anyone.”

“Mark Lee,” Jaemin proclaimed, grabbing his shoulder. “You’re an absolute genius.”

“What we’re going to need are post-its, a lot of them, and a list of names.” Mark turned to Jaemin. “You said Chenle’s class president, right? He should have the list, think you can get it?” Jaemin nodded. “Post-Its…”

“I got you covered.” Jeno nodded to his desk where, on the small ledge above, lay a stack of multi-coloured sticky notes.

“We can start tonight,” Jaemin said. “I can get the list right away.”

Something dangerously close to adrenaline bubbled in Mark’s stomach and erupted in a laugh because this was crazy, so crazy. But it just might work. “Okay, once Jaemin comes back, we write until our hands drop off.”

Five minutes to midnight, there was a soft knocking on the door that sent the three a foot in the air from their positions on the floor. Carefully, Mark inched over to the door and pressed his ear against the wood. “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Donghyuck.” Even without identifying himself, Mark would have known that voice anywhere. His blood ran cold.

“Do you need something?” He called out tentatively.

“We know what you’re up to,” a different voice called out. Renjun, most likely. “So -”

“What do you mean ‘up to’?” Mark shot back, heart rate picking up. He glanced back at Jaemin and Jeno. Silently, Jaemin gestured to the copy of the level’s name list he’d acquired from Chenle and mouthed ‘roommates’. 

Mark smacked his face into his hands with a soft groan.

“We’re not going to tell on you,” Donghyuck’s voice again. “We want in.”

What. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mark.”

“Donghyuck.”

“Mark Lee.”

“Donghyuck...Lee.” Mark winced. Damn it, naming conventions and damn it, another Lee.

“Stop flirting already.” Jaemin’s voice floated over. Mark promptly ignored him.

“You’re a terrible liar.”

Mark’s ears flared red. “I’m not!”

There was a pause and a soft shuffling sound outside that sounded like a whispered argument. Mark pressed his ear flat against the door and waited, gesturing wildly to Jaemin and Jeno to chill, he had no idea what was going on but he probably, hopefully, had the situation under control. 

Donghyuck’s voice came through the door again. “Mark,” he sounded tired. “The younger boys are our friends too. We’ve seen them grow up, and we know they need encouragement right now. We know you guys are writing notes on gifts, and we want in. Please. You can trust us.”

Torn, Mark turned back to the two, who had moved near to the door to listen in. Jeno looked at Jaemin for a while, eyes moving in the way they did when the two had their telepathic conversations. “We can, Mark hyung,” Jeno finally said. “Donghyuck and Renjun don’t lie.”

So Mark let himself be pushed from the door by Jaemin as Jeno unlocked the door. Donghyuck and Renjun’s heads peeked in before they slipped fully into the room. Really, it should be a recipe for disaster: the class presidents standing in their dorm room, floor strewn with post it notes, a mound of candies yet to be attached to a note, a box of candies with notes sitting accusingly on Mark’s bed. But Donghyuck and Renjun were both holding pens in their hands, and somehow, Mark didn’t feel worried at all.

The next day, Operation “Cheer Up!” was go. 

(Donghyuck, it turned out, knew his girl groups well.)

Since the pockets on guy’s pants could probably contain the entire Pacific Ocean, each of them kept four of five ‘packages’ at all times. They had drawn out a map of the lockers for all of the underclassmen, sectioning and allocating them.

Mark had been allocated a section on the West block. When he had classes at the lab he’d dropped a few packages in the lockers at hand-level in quick succession. On the way back he’d accidentally dropped his books. Bending down to pick them up, he dropped a few more in the second last row.

Now he was only left with two more at the bottom corner - he didn’t have enough on him the first time around. The corridor was empty as far as he could see. The surveillance camera also wasn’t too near.

Mark placed his exercise books down. As he slipped his hand into his pocket he wondered how the rest were doing. Jeno might have a harder time of the lot, he decided, the boy was too sincere to lie for long if he had too. 

Eyes fixed on the floor, his hand found the opening of the first locker. He felt the weight drop from his hands and heard the dull thud. Okay, one more to go.

Inching a little to the right, Mark decided that contrary to original thought, Donghyuck might face the least challenges. His poker face was excellent, he was quick at thinking on his feet, his tongue even quicker. Jaemin had a smiling face that tended to distract people, he should be fine, too. Renjun - Mark didn’t know him well, but something told him that Renjun’s poker face might be better than he’d might expect.

Mark was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the footsteps approaching until they were really nearby. Heart skipping a beat, Mark hurriedly shoved the package blinding at the locker and grabbed his books. As he stood up, pretending to mind his own business with the locker combination, he saw a familiar pink post-it out of the corner of his vision. He squeezed his eyes shut as the footsteps drew nearer and nearer. 

“Oh, my shoelace,” came a low voice. Mark felt the air in front of him move, actually move, as the figure - right in front of him, as it turned out - bent down. Mark groaned. What were the chances that he was squatting down, right in front of the lollipop?

“You going to get that?” Mark’s eyes shot open at the casual remark he was sure had been thrown his way. He looked down to see a mop of brown hair he recognised from the year above him.

“W-what?” Mark stammered out. The boy sighed.

“You dropped something, didn’t you? Better pick it up.”

So Mark did. He bent down and, with shaking hands, took the lollipop and slid it into the last locker. Casting a glance at the boy, he realised with a start that he was massively tall and from that position, Mark couldn’t see anything. Not the corridor, not the camera. Then: oh.

The boy - Wong Yukhei - Mark recognised, shot him a wink. “Good work you’re doing. We heard about the...incident yesterday.”

“It’s...it’s not me,” Mark denied. “This whole thing never was -”

To his surprise, Yukhei threw back his head and laughed. Mark was right, he remembered thinking dazedly, this guy was _tall_.

“We figured. You’re new, aren’t you? But doesn’t matter. It’s still a nice thing, yeah? They’ll appreciate it, trust me.” Yukhei grinned and thumped Mark on the back twice, then he was gone.

“Mark hyung?”

Mark was still spaced out, staring at the spot Yukhei stood at when someone else called his name. He looked down the corridor to see Donghyuck staring back. Donghyuck tilted his head, flashing the universal ‘okay’ sign at him. “You alright, hyung?”

“Yeah,” Mark grinned, bringing his hand up to flash a thumbs-up Donghyuck, who visibly relaxed with relief. “I’m all good.”

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[17 39] Omg you guys  
[17 39] I was walking with Donghyuck doing the thing and I looked away for like one second and was like “okay lets split and do our sections”  
[17 40] And he was like “oh, i finished already”  
[17 40] So I replied “huh when” O.o  
[17 40] And he looked at me weirdly “just now? When you were looking around”  
[17 40] HOW  
[17 40] hOW  
[17 41] ･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[17 42] Next week, on buzzfeed unsolved…

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[17 43] Is that the show Renjun watches - -  
[17 43] Those true crime stuff gives me the creeps… ><

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[17 48] Dude’s juggling class presidency, dental hygiene rep, plus being top in class  
[17 49] He probably needs the efficiency bless him

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[17 51] LIKE HOW HE DREW AN ENTIRE LION WITHOUT YOU SEEING

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[17 52] That was one time! In pencil!! Why are you still salty!!!!!

\--

The next day, the cafeteria was back to life again.

“Hyung!” Mark turned to see Chenle waving at him, so he made his way over.

“Hey Chenle, how’s things?”

The younger boy shrugged, face falling a little. “Could be better,” he replied between bites of food. Then he shot Mark a wry smile. “But they could be worse.”

Huh, Mark would settle with that for now. He gave Chenle’s hair a friendly ruffle before heading to his usual seat with Jaemin and Jeno.

It was empty which...strange. Jeno was usually pretty fast in getting to the cafeteria. Mark pulled out his phone.

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[10 03] Hey, I got the table  
[10 03] Where are you guys?

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[10 03] Hyung  
[10 03] hYUNG  
[10 03] HYUNG  
[10 03] LEE MARK HYUNG

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[10 04] WHAT

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[10 04] HYUNG COME TO CLASS 1A STAT DON’T BE SQUARE ヽ( `д´*)ノ

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[10 06] yo but I just got my kimbap tho

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[10 07] Get someone to watch it for you  
[10 07] If you’re lucky maybe Chenle’s already eaten so he’ll leave it alone 

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[10 08] This better be good guys - -

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[10 09] It is  
[10 10] We found our guy  
[10 10] You better come soon before Jaemin kills him  
[10 10] With love  
[10 10] But also strangulation

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[10 11] ???

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[10 11] Letter boy? The one with the bad ‘J’  
[10 11] Which is quite funny as you’ll see because

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[10 11] BE RIGHT THERE  
[10 11] TELL JAEMIN STRANGULATION ISNT WORTH DETENTION

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[10 11] His name literally starts with it so  
[10 11] Bad handwriting means his hands are just poop i gueasdjhflasdnvlalw  
[10 12] HYUNG THIS IS JAEMIN  
[10 12] ITS WORTH DETENTION AND YOULL SEE WHY 

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[10 12] I DONT CARE YOU BETTER HOLD ON TILL I GET THERE  
[10 12] CHENLE, HOLD MY KIMBAP

\---

“You know, I never knew someone’s neck could be that long like, diagonally.”

“Yeah I’ll say. It’s quite impressive, actually.”

“Mr Kim could probably teach trigonometry with that.”

“Ay, good one.”

“Are you two just going to stand there,” Jisung pleaded. “Please help me -”

“Hmm…” Jeno, for a shining total of three seconds, actually looked like he was considering it and Mark could just see the flames of hope spark in Jisungs eyes. “Yeah, no.”

Mark watched the flames die out in an instant.

“My son, I bore you, I carried you in my arms -” 

Jeno snorted.

“- I did not raise you like this! To betray your own father -”

“You’re really, really not,” Jisung squeaked.

“- to join the ranks of Kylo Ren -”

This was going to take a while. Mark sighed and took pity on Jisung. Goodness knows how long the two had been locked in this position. “Jaemin ah, your neck’s going to ache tomorrow.”

“Fine.” With a final glare, Jaemin retracted his head and Jisung could finally stop leaning over like the tower of Pisa. Jaemin crossed his arms over his chest. The second he did, Mark’s brain superimposed a rice scooper into his hands and he was horribly reminded of his mother, that one time he had forgotten to take the chicken out of the fridge.

“So.” Jaemin’s feet were also tapping on the floor. “You’ve been the one getting the. The -”

“Merchandise?” Jeno suggested. Three pairs of eyes swivelled to Jeno and his badly-repressed grin.

Jaemin sighed. “Jeno, this is not the time for bad jokes I -”

“Joke?” Jisung turned to Mark, who suddenly felt his role as uncle very keenly in this family portrait of three he had been staring at for the past five minutes.

“It means drugs,” Mark explained, Jisung opening his mouth in a ‘ah’.

“That aside, this is the reason why we’re here.” Jaemin pull Mark over to a desk. He pointed to a piece of pink post-it lay beside what seemed to be a Geography assignment. Mark looked at the really badly written ‘j’ on the assignment, then to the awfully written ‘j’ on the post-it. 

In the time Mark spent scrutinising the notes, Jisung inched his chair backwards subtly, but stopped at Jaemin’s glare. Then Mark opened his mouth. “Y-you think I’m cute?”

Outside the windows, a few birds chirped happily.

“W-what?” Jisung’s face was bright red. He frantically waved his hands. “No, I’m just - I mean yes you - wait what -”

“It’s okay, we won’t tell Chenle that he’s been replaced as cutest hyung.”

“Jeno hyung!” Jisung cried hotly. “It’s not like that! I’m not the one writing the notes - I mean, I _am_, but I’m not writing them!” He blinked a few times as his words registered with himself. “Y-you get what I’m saying, right?”

“You’re transcribing for someone,” Mark said, ears pink but otherwise he was doing a pretty good job at covering his embarrassment. Foot in the mouth again, and Jaemin said he wasn’t flexible.

“Who is it?” Jaemin demanded, and Jisung’s eyes disappeared into his grimace. “I’m going to hug you until you tell, you sneaky little -”

“No, no, please - argh!”

They must have been at it for five minutes or so when the classroom door was thrown open.

“Yah, Park Jisung!”

Renjun stood at the door frame, narrow shoulders heaving up and down as he panted. A lock of brown hair was even dangling to his forehead. With a glance around the room his eyes landed on the table and its contents. He smacked his forehead and sighed. “Okay you know what, whatever. It would have come out eventually anyway.”

Jaemin froze. Jisung froze. Jeno and Mark both froze because did their tussling just summon the…? Mark stared at Jeno and Jeno stared at Mark, and four pairs of eyes slowly turned towards the door.

“It’s...you?” Jaemin pointed a shaky finger at Renjun. “And Jisung wrote for you because your written Korean - ah. And roommates! That’s how it worked!”

Renjun ignored Jaemin’s ramblings as he crossed into the classroom. “Chenle’s got a toothache.”

No. No, no, no. The school didn’t have a dentist, which meant -

“Mr Lee’s bringing him to the dentist.” 

“No.” Jisung stood up from his seat, eyes wide with horror. 

“They said it’s probably not due to tooth decay but let’s be real, it’s probably due to tooth decay.” Renjun seemed to consider his words for a while, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. He sighed again, gritting out, “Donghyuck ran to the staff office the moment he heard about it.”

“I-is there anything we can do, hyung?” Jisung’s voice was so lost, Mark felt his heart ache for him.

Renjun shook his head. “We’ll just have to trust Donghyuck on this one. But on our end…” He winced as he looked up at Mark. “Mark, you’re friends with Donghyuck, right?”

“Huh?”

Renjun tilted his head. “I mean, he talks about you all the time, plus that one week…”

Mark was eighty-nine percent sure his mouth was hanging open like an idiot, kind of like Jaemin and Jeno’s at the moment, but he couldn’t do much but stare as Renjun continued on. “If that’s the case, um. Do you guys have some spare space in your room?”

\---

When Donghyuck didn’t show up in school the next day, rumours started to fly.

“I heard he was getting involved in some weird stuff...selling weed behind the parking lot at the corner store.”

“Really? That means expulsion...or maybe it’s just suspension? ‘Cause I heard he was selling pirated music CDs, so it’s not as severe. Wouldn’t it be in the news if it were?”

“Donghyuck? He got accepted into some entertainment company and they made him drop out of school to focus on being a trainee. I don’t know man, that’s what Taehyung told me.”

“Oh yeah? Sungho said he eloped with someone and they ran off to Canada together.”

“Yep, that’s the weirdest one I’ve heard today.” Renjun popped the last of his noodles into his mouth. “How ‘bout you guys?”

“Aliens,” Jisung deadpanned.

“Yeah, I heard that one too. Someone really took the time to figure out all the details, huh. Makes you wonder why they’re in music and not literary arts.”

“No Jaemin, ‘music is a story’!” Renjun cried in awful impersonation of their shared music teacher, and it was enough to get a smile out of Jisung.

After the incident that day, the five of them had shifted what candy remained to the room shared by Mark, Jaemin, and Jeno. That night a few teachers indeed came to perform an inspection. They didn’t find anything. By morning, the bag of kit-kats that remained disappeared, too.

Without Donghyuck, Renjun took to joining the group of three during breaks. At first Mark felt it was like eating with an on-duty cop but, remembering why they were like this in the first place, that quickly dissipated. Without Chenle, Renjun and Jaemin took to dragging Jisung over to the table too. The amount of rice that boy could inhale was insane.

Late afternoon the next day, Chenle returned. He had just walked into class, casual as you pleased, and when Jisung turned around to see him he had fallen out of his chair in shock. Once classes were out, they gathered in Renjun and Jisung’s dorm for a thorough interrogation.

“All patched up, see?” Chenle opened his mouth and pointed at his molars. Jaemin made a face but Mark and Jeno nodded in approval at the healthy looking teeth.

Jisung poked Chenle’s elbow. “You sure you’re not a ghost? Didn’t Mr Lee kill you?”

A strange expression appeared on Chenle’s face. “Aw dude it’s totally crazy, but it’s not actually a rule, did you know that?”

Jaemin snorted. “We all know it’s not be on the student handbook but I’m quite sure it is.”

Jisung blinked. “It’s not?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Then explain the ‘legend’?”

“Oh. That.” Chenle shifted uncomfortably under their collective gazes. “Apparently a long time ago there was this student and like. People used to stick gum everywhere. His hair, desk, between the pages of his notebook, everything. He had to be taken out of school and...yeah.”

Stunned silence. 

“That’s awful.” Renjun managed.

Chenle took a large breath. “He was Mr Lee’s son.”

“No.”

“Yeah. So when the other guy took out a packet of gum during class to slip it to someone Mr Lee freaked out. It was like, less than a year after the incident I think.”

Jeno winced. “Did they...counsel him for that? Is he still allowed to teach? How’s the son now?”

“The son’s doing okay. They both did go for counselling, that’s why he’s good friends with the school counsellor? And apparently the thing with the other student wasn’t as bad as the legend made it out to be, that’s what Donghyuck said. It was his older brother, uh...Taeyong? Yeah. The dancer.”

“Um, so where’s Donghyuck now?” 

Chenle gave Mark a puzzled look. “Hyuckie hyung? He’s not in school?”

“Do you see him in this room?” Jaemin answered flatly.

He looked around and didn’t. “Huh, that’s weird.”

Mark felt something prickly in his stomach. “Didn’t he get suspended or something for his involvement?”

“No? Nothing happened to him that I know of. Oh!” He snapped his fingers, pointing them at Mark. “But he did text me yesterday for your number.”

\---

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[00 12] :)

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[00 12] :)

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[0013] :)

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[00 13] :)

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[00 13] Shut up.  
[00 14] Jaemin I can see you typing, don’t you dare.

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[00 13] :(

\---

The next day, Mr Lee walked into class during break. The cacophony of surprised mumblings died down as he took his usual position behind the teacher’s desk.

“Good afternoon, students. I’m sorry for taking up your break time but we’ve got an important announcement to make.

“I’m sure many of you know that the junior cohort had a...bad shock when it came to their most recent examination grades, to put it lightly. We know you all take your work very seriously, including academics, and for that we are proud of you. The following response was a natural response, simultaneously a product of that and our pressure cooker society. 

“We regret that we could not tell you this earlier, as it was something on the ministry-scale, but your teachers did not take this lightly. After investigating the issue it was found that the frame for the multiple choice answer key was shifted out of place due to a translation error. The papers were remarked by hand, and the pass rate went up to 100%.

“Many students tried to ask the teachers on behalf of the students, even those not from their cohort. The situation was regretful and we are working hard on our end to prevent this from occurring again. But please know that your care and unity that shone through during this time is something we are extremely proud of.”

With that, Mr Lee walked out from behind the desk and, in front of the wide-eyed class, bowed ninety degrees.

\---

Mark ran down the corridors, the text he received a day earlier running through his mind. He’d practically had it memorised. Not that he’d tried to. It kind of just happened.

**[FROM: +82 98 2735 4700]**  
[09 01] Hey Mark hyung, this is Donghyuck. I figured you’d probably want an explanation for everything and I would have found you earlier but I caught this awful flu so just wait a while okay? I know Chenle’s probably told you guys most of it, but there’s still some things I’d like to make clear. I’ll be back on Thursday, can I meet you by the cat bush?

Donghyuck was already there, behind the bushes such that you couldn’t see him unless you were actively looking. There was a familiar cat under his hands, stitch marks still visible. Mark sat on a brick near Donghyuck and cleared his throat. “So. Why all the candy?”

Dongshik looked up at Mark, then back down at the cat. “Bongshik.”

“Yeah, that one came with the note.”

“Hmm. Tutoring Jaemin?”

“Jaemin tutors me too. Does that warrant five candies?”

“True, true.” Donghyuck hummed. “Maybe it was to loosen you up a little. You’re always so stressed about following the rules.”

Mark gaped at him, incredulous. “Says you, Mr class president?”

Donghyuck smirked. “Yep, says me.”

There was a pause. Donghyuck continued to pat the cat. “Are you going to meet everyone out by the cat bush like this?”

“Nope, just you,” he replied, popping the ‘p’.

Mark blinked. “Just me.”

“Just you,” Donghyuck repeated. His shoe scuffed the ground, hands stilling for a moment on Bongshik’s head. “I care about what you think of me. Take that however you will.”

“Okay,” Mark answered, glad Jaemin and Jeno weren’t here right now. They should be at the cafeteria with Renjun, Jisung, and now Chenle. Right? Mark didn’t want to think about it if it turns out they weren’t.

He was so deep in thought he almost missed Donghyuck continuing. “I didn’t do it to avenge my brother, if you were wondering. He doesn’t hold a grudge against Mr Lee. He’s our uncle on our father’s side, removed once or twice.”

“What?” Mark sputtered out. “I knew it. I knew there were too many Lees!”

“Heh, kidding.”

Mark smacked his forehead. He really should’ve seen that one coming. “Then…?”

“Let kids be kids, right? Not as an excuse for things like what happened to Mr Lee’s son but, like. Small thrills. Like candy machines.”

Mark stared at Donghyuck’s side profile, still absorbed in patting the cat. Something in him knew it wasn’t so straightforward. No, he was definitely watching Mark’s reactions through his peripheral vision. He seemed almost scared of something. Maybe he was. 

“In Canada this guy came dressed up as a moose once. When you scratched the fur it smelled like maple syrup.”

Donghyuck looked up. “...I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

“You think I could come up with something like that. Really.” Mark replied flatly. “I’d actually be quite honoured.”

Donghyuck snorted. “How did he get it to smell like maple syrup?”

“Dude, till this day I’m still trying to figure out.” Mark gave a bone-weary sigh. “So, what did Mr Lee say about it?”

“He’s actually pretty happy we managed to give chewing gum a new reputation.”

“That you did. You really did.” Mark smiled at Donghyuck, who grinned back sudden and sweet, boyish features shining with new light. “Renjun hid the evidence after it all happened, so yeah. Is this going to continue?”

“Do people our age need to be kids sometimes?”

“Sure, yeah. I’d say so.”

“Then hell yeah we are. This time, it’s fully 100% legal - well, technically it always was - but why take the fun away?”

\---

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[14 17] So...  
[14 17] A little kitty told me....

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[14 18] asdfghjkl how do you even know this  
[14 18] It was nothing Jaemin if you don’t shut up I s2g

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[14 19] ;)

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Lee Jeno]**  
[14 19] ;)

**[TO: Bunk Buds]**  
[14 19] You two. Watch your back.

**[FROM: Bunk Buds - Na Jaemin]**  
[14 20] (´ ε ` )♡

**Author's Note:**

> i have absolutely nothing against the surname Lee, i genuinely think it is a nice name/surname
> 
> superhuman era donghyuck has matured so much im emotional TT 
> 
> thank you so much for reading! ^^


End file.
